Firm History

Since its inception, St. Louis-based Edward Jones has taken a personal, long-term approach to investing.

Until the mid-1950s, Edward Jones looked much like any other investment brokerage firm. In 1955, however, Edward D. "Ted" Jones Jr., son of the firm's founder, brought to life his vision of how investments should be delivered to individuals. His experience convinced him that when important financial decisions are involved, most individuals prefer to work face-to-face with a trusted professional.

Starting with the first branch office in Mexico, Mo., Ted Jones devoted his energy to building a network of small neighborhood offices, each run by a single financial advisor and full-time support person, the branch office administrator (BOA). The mission of each of those offices was the same - to provide quality investments and personal service to investors in the local community.

Back in St. Louis, the home office was organized in a hub and spoke manner to provide branches with technological, marketing and operations support. By 1980, there were more than 300 Edward Jones branch offices.

John Bachmann succeeded Ted Jones as the firm's managing partner in 1980. Under John's leadership, and continued focus on a strategic approach to investing, growth of the branch office network has continued. In 1994, the firm expanded into Canada, and in 1998 the first branch office opened in the UK. Today there are more than 10,000 offices throughout the United States, and in our Canadian and United Kingdom affiliates.

In addition, we are the nation's only major financial services firm that retains a partnership form of ownership.

But those are just a few of the notable things about Edward Jones. View our timeline to learn more.